


what i know

by woopsforgotadam



Series: the people won't know (what we know) [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Miraculous!Alya
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 15:06:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6525157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woopsforgotadam/pseuds/woopsforgotadam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alya, a young woman who is driven by telling the truth, gets an interview with Gabriel Agreste and takes it to her advantage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	what i know

**Author's Note:**

  * For [myillusionsgone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/myillusionsgone/gifts).



> This is au on so many levels lol bye let me live in fantasy

Alya was surprised, despite her abundant confidence, that she scored this interview without using Adrien. Actually, she has been wary to let any of her friends find out her suspicions and the evidence that she had found along the way. Nino knew, but he was…different for obvious reasons. The interview was with one Gabriel Agreste, the aloof fashion designer who she has never met in person, despite having been at his house a few times. What he and his assistant think is that this interview was about fashion and the industry for the school newspaper. She only got it because made the argument it would make him seem more likeable to the public and this help his line’s public image. Apparently, this thinking had impressed Monsieur Agreste enough he agreed to a face-to-face interview.  Perhaps he also knew she was friends with Adrien, but she likes to think it’s her cunning skills.

When she entered the building to his headquarters (as she has referred to it) Alya gripped her bag and walked up to the welcome desk, a smile on her face to hide her nerves, “I have a 3’oclock appointment with Gabriel Agreste.”

The woman looked up, a raised eyebrow, “Name?”

“Alya Césaire.”

“30th floor, Madame Sancoeur will meet you.”

Alya nodded and walked toward the elevator, on the inside she was amazed that there was a _thirtieth floor_. It was an Avenger Tower kind of gig! On the elevator she pulled out her cell phone and sent a text to Nino.

          Alya: off to meet w/ stane!  
          niNO: u need to not call him that  
          niNO: hes literally our friend’s dad, not funding terrorists and trying to get anyone killed  
          Alya: we shall see, he COULD BE hawk moth  
          niNO: r u srsly going to just ask him???  
          Alya: ofc not  
          niNO: good  
          Alya: like any good reporter, ill get him comfortable and then ask! >;D  
          niNO: ALYA.

Laughing, she closed her phone’s screen and looked to see the floor number. She was getting closer and closer. Finally, the thirtieth floor came and the doors opened and sure enough, there was the recognizable face of Nathalie Sancoeur, waiting with that ever present frown. She fixed her glasses and Alya smiled at her, “Good afternoon, Mademoiselle.”

“Good afternoon,” Alya greeted and then the woman turned and started to walk. Alya took the hint and followed after her, her eyes looking around at the glass walls, a butterfly of all things was the decoration on the glass, a pale-clean looking one. She committed this to memory and continued to follow, luckily it didn’t take that long and soon Nathalie was knocking on a fancy door that read: GABRIEL AGRESTE.

Gabriel Agreste, indeed, or Hawk Moth.

 

The room was stifling, but that rarely ever bothered Alya, who was smiling nonetheless at a non-smiling fashion designer who answered her questions with the right amount of information but would never be accused of oversharing.

“I have a few more questions, Monsieur Agreste,” said Alya, “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Like I mentioned, Mademoiselle Césaire, you have until 3:45.”

Alya glanced at the clock on the wall, twenty minutes, that’s good. Enough time to call him out. She reached down to pick up her bag from the floor and placed it on her lap, the action earned her a surprised expression from someone who could be a supervillain (though his surprised face was merely a raised eyebrow). She pulled out her manila folder dedicated to her Hawk Moth research and placed it on the desk. It was actually labeled: HAWK MOTH PROFILE.

She had one for each akumatized person and Ladybug and Chat Noir, of course.

“What is this?” he sounded surprised, but there was an edge that she caught and she smirked.

“Look in it, I have a copy at home, too,” he did as she suggested and she witnessed his surprise deepened, it seemed she gave the almost robotic man more expressions. “You see, I’ve been trying to get the identities of those involved with the recent akuma attacks and well, for obvious reasons, I’ve been looking into the person who caused this all. I was lucky to have a picture of him from that time he projected himself against Stoneheart. Not the best, but his profile is clearly seen. There is also different matters, of course.”

There was silence following her words, except for the sounds of papers shuffling. Once he closed the packet, he spoke, “So this is what you have.”

“That’s just paper, there’s also the fact that you are rarely ever seen, even by your own son. I asked Nino, you may know him, about the Simon Says incident and you were seen, however, you were left alone for some time form what he recalls. Your house’s security is also top notch, Adrien says that even he rarely knows the capabilities. Good enough for an evil lair, I say, and you have the money for the expenses of upkeep.”

The mention of Adrien got another reaction from Agreste and he narrowed his eyes, his voice tense and cold; “Have you told my son anything about this?”

Alya for her part was not so easily intimidated by him. If he was Hawk Moth, Ladybug and Chat Noir would save her and she has GPS on her phone. Captain Marvel wouldn’t be intimidated, either. So, she rolled her eyes and said “How do you think that’d go? Walk up to my friend and ask him if his father is a supervillain?”

“But you would set up an interview in order to ask me.”

“That’s different,” Alya defended, “I care how Adrien would feel about it, not you. That’s why I made this purely business.”

Gabriel nodded in agreement. Which surprised Alya, but she wasn’t going to question it. It was silent again before the man sighed. Alya tensed up then, her eyes narrowed, but when he looked back at her he didn’t look angry: just tired. “This is all…very convincing.”

Alya scoffed, “I’m not one for coincidences. Or keeping secrets that can harm someone for long.”

“I’d stay open minded, Mademoiselle Césaire, because this is one.”

Bristling at this, the young woman frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, “What do you mean?”

Gabriel sighed once more, “I am not Hawk Moth.”

"That’s what someone who was Hawk Moth and didn’t want to be found out would say.” Pointed out Alya.

"I am,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “a miraculous holder. Or was.”

What was that saying? Don’t let flies fly into your mouth? Normally, it was Marinette whose mouth Alya had to close. Now, she needed Marinette to do that for her. “What?!”

"Don’t yell,” chastised Gabriel who was reaching down and opening a drawer, Alya was unsure of his movement until he placed a blue fan-looking item on his desk over the still opened manila folder, she could see the picture of what she dubbed the ‘volpina necklace’ that was in his line and with the Volpina girl. “Here is my evidence.”

Alya peered at it, then at Gabriel Agreste and back at the…definitely peacock-esque item. “A peacock?”

 “A peacock.”

“What did they call you? Pierre the Peacock?”

“Actually it’s Paupulo.” Corrected Gabriel who merely shrugged. Alya was still letting this sink in and she blinked a few times, her surprised finally settling in.

“So…have you been looking into Hawk Moth, then? That’s the only reason I can think of all this coincidence.”

There was a pause before, it seemed to Alya, that Gabriel Agreste seemed to give Fp a pretense of trying to keep secrets. “…Yes. I have my own suspicions, but…I made that necklace in order to throw off Hawk Moth.”

“That’s really clever, actually, I’m sorry I threw that theory out the window.”

“Oh?”

“It was when I didn’t want to think one of my friend’s father akumatized me into hurting people, well, Chloe deserved it and I do want to know who Ladybug and Chat Noir are, but…not like that. I soon go over that, though, because truth is more important than my personal feelings.”

“I suppose I should be grateful my son has a friend who cares about him.”

Alya shrugged once more, “He’s got me, Nino and Marinette. But that’s about Adrien, what I want to know…is why you’re telling me this?”

“You seem to be intelligent. You tell me.”

“Well, I could assume that you are Hawk Moth and you’re making this up.”

Gabriel nodded, “You could, but you are not.”

“Right,” Alya nodded, “I barely know you, if at all, but something is telling me to trust you with this. You also said you were the…what was it? Paupulo? Not currently.”

“Exactly. Hawk Moth is getting stronger, surely you’ve noticed the influx of attack and the powers?”

Alya nodded, since Volpina’s appearance, it seems Paris hasn’t had a day of rest. At her nod, Gabriel continued, “I am too old to be Paupulo again and I…I don’t think I could. I’m not the person I was. However, I think I found someone to be the next Paupulo.”

Once more, Alya blinked, “Wait what? I come in here and accuse you of being a villain and you want to…make me a superhero?”

"You’ve shown me your efficiency enough, I think.”

"You’d offer me this instead of your own son?”

Gabriel gave her a sharp look, “Adrien will not be harmed. What parent would send their child out to danger willingly?”

“You’re sending me out, though.”

“You run after them for your blog, anyway, do you not? I’m protecting you more than I am throwing you into danger.”

Well, Alya found she couldn’t argue with that. She opened her mouth again, but there was a sharp knock on the door, Alya saw the clock read 3:45. Their time was over.

“Postpone the meeting with the editors Nathalie,” called out Gabriel, “to another day.”

 _Wow_ , thought Alya, _if that wasn’t business goals…_

“As for you, Mademoiselle Césaire—“

“I think you should just call me Alya now, we’re past that point, yes?”

“…Alya, then. We’re going to discuss the Miraculous.”

 

Elsewhere in Paris, Wayzz floated over to his longtime friend and perched on his shoulder, “I hear Shazuu awakening.”

Master Fu smiled, “I told Agreste to use his best judgement.”

                   
                niNo: ???ALYA R U DED???  
                A: lol no, i was just chillin’ with mari, why?  
                niNO: just chillin’??? u thought u were talkin to a supervillain and didn’t get back to me!  
                A: oh i forgot to tell you. I didn’t ask. I realized it couldn’t been him, the man is always busy  
                niNO: so you listened to me, then?  
                A: and it actually benefited me  
                niNO: PFFFT

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> the peacock name: paupulo is from the etymology of the word peacock; it was the latin sounding. i also got the name Shazuu from the bae, Jana, who this work is gifted to.


End file.
